Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs

When I was younger, I was always fascinated by how things worked. I wanted to know how technology worked, how the economy worked, how any system worked. But I wasn’t going to be an engineer or an economist.
My second thought was always “how do I break it?”
My third thought was “how do I stop someone from breaking it?” Asking the third question made me think like a sheepdog. Soon I’ll be trained as one.
The Sheepdog analogy is the introduction to Dave Grossman’s book On Combat.

“Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?” – William J. Bennett – in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

Truth is, I have a certain amount of respect for Communist and Islamist insurgents. They understand what they are fighting for, even if it is ass-end retarded. Because their goals are ass-end retarded, I have to fight back. And because I fight religious fundamentalism, I am scorned. I don’t much care why, because I know why I have to do it.

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

“Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” …
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
…
“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”
…
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.
…
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa.”

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.
…Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day.

And Grossman continues. It’s worth a read.

It’s a simple analogy, but it conveys the point well enough.

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6 Responses to “Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs”

A response to the [alleged] letter of Mr. Charles Grennel to Jill Edwards (student, UW)
Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

Thank you for your interesting tale of sheep, wolves & sheepdogs. You make such a fascinating distinction between the three. However, in your fervor for simplification, you’ve left out a major character in your pastoral parable: the Shepherd.

The Shepherd is the leader who is responsible for deploying the sheepdogs around the perimeter for protection. When the Shepherd decides to send his sheepdogs to the wolves’s den to eliminate the threat before it’s at the gate, he has stopped being a Shepherd and has begun his role as conqueror. No longer content with the resources of his own land, he has turned his eyes to that of his neighbors. He has convinced both the sheep and the sheepdog that it is for their future protection. And in his zest for securing this future protection, how many of his neighbors sheep were slaughtered?

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m grateful for the sacrifices of the sheepdog. Evil and violence exist in the world and I respect all who are willing to stand in opposition to them, but we live in an age when all of our shepherds have disappointed us. All of our leaders have been involved in scandals of greed and debauchery. Pensions are robbed, jobs are outsourced, the environment plundered, health care is pathetic and the noble sheepdogs are asked to pay the ultimate sacrifice so that the shepherds may continue to pursue their agenda of power and greed. When we the sheep, buy into this lie we are leading ourselves to the slaughter. Our freedoms are more endangered by the shepherds than from the wolves. And let’s not forget that the ultimate role of the shepherd is to protect his sheep long enough to harvest their wool and slaughter them for meat himself.

Show me a good Shepherd willing to fight the corruption in his own yard and I’ll show you a sheep who’s willing to fight the wolf himself.

In the analogy world where sheep, sheepdogs, wolves and shepards are all human. The sheep would be wise to have a system where only qualified and proven sheepdogs are allowed to be elected into the position of shepard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating an exclusionary society. In this analogy world, a sheep can become a shepard… But only after first serving and proving themselves as a sheepdog. The sheep are only asking for trouble if they seek a shepard that lacks the experience, the education, the trials, and the tribulations of a proven sheepdog. Elect qualified individuals and the land of the sheep shall prosper.

Jnkish no sheepdog can be turned a shepherd. A shepherd is born a shepherd. The mind of a sheepdog does not compare to a shepherd. A sheepdog can become a sheep and a sheep (although very hard ) can become sheepdog. A shepherd can turn into a wolf, but a wolf cannot turn into a shepherd. The don’t possess the correct outlook. It’s just the way life is. Now a shepherd (although extremely unusual) can become a sheepdog or even a sheep. And a wolf as said earlier. But shepherds are born, not raised. Sheep are usually born with an unenlightened outlook, but can be born sheepdogs and corrupted into society. Sheepdogs are born. All a wolf is, is a corrupted shepherd or a born wolf. Wolves believe they’re shepherds but they are not. Now obviously the most complex thing here is shepherd. The interesting thing about shepherds is that a shepherd can pretty much instantly tell if someone else is a shepherd. There’s just something about them that match up. The only other people that can recognize a shepherd is a sheepdog. They will not understand them but they will see them. Otherwise a shepherd will pass by a sheep and wolf completely unseen. Quite interesting really.